Bees' Inn Apiaries owner Dave West says they've got a plan in place to get back into business, as well as starting the demolition of the building. Photo / Belinda Feek
The cause of a fire that destroyed a Waikato apiary business has been ruled accidental.
"There's no suggestion of anything deliberate or suspicious. There was quite good evidence that the fire started from an accidental cause but were not sure what. When you look at the site there was a large amount of destruction."
He said firefighters remained at the scene from the Wednesday night through till about 6.30pm Friday.
Bees' Inn owner Dave West told the Herald today they would shortly begin the demolition process of the building before undertaking a rebuild.
As for the companies domestic and international contracts, West said they would still be fulfilled and clients had been informed of the blaze.
"We're going to contract out some of the export packing work and we're looking at leasing another factory until our one is up and running. So while it's not ideal, you've got to make the best of the situation.
"That way we retain our customers."
They would also be purchasing product to fulfill the export orders.
West said it took a few days for the severity of what happened to sink in but he and his team were now focused on moving forward.
Meanwhile, Fleet said swarms of hungry bees did arrive as expected, however somehow none of the firefighters, who were all equipped with epi-pens, were bitten or injured.
"Considering there were a large number of firefighters all day Thursday and part of Friday, so they could completely extinguish the fire, to the best of my knowledge no Fire and Emergency staff got stung."
Fleet said he had a close call himself after discovering a bee had flown in underneath his helmet.
He'd already been briefed by Bees' Inn staff about what to do if that happened - remain calm and not aggravate the creature - so he gently took his helmet off and the bee flew away.
Due to their unwanted guests and the unsteady structure, Fleet got in two drones to help pinpoint hotspots and where the fire started.